Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 78,301 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 850,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,301 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 0.9% of Prudential Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $656,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after buying an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,236,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,042,276,000 after acquiring an additional 178,007 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $839.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $835.99 and its 200-day moving average is $838.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $795.93 billion, a PE ratio of 71.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.